Awkward Silences

I'm still here. I've been kinda sick, kinda pretending to raid (sorry I missed tonight guys), and really dealing with a teenage daughter. See, she likes these things called boys, and, well, she likes to tip toe around and pretend she doesn't, and sneak visits with them while telling mom how she is being a wonderful daughter and retaking tests. Sorry, mom was a teenage girl once, and those excuses have been used. Not by me, I was too busy working and hanging out in a digital world to really date until I was nearly 18, but I saw them used by friends. Nope. It took me a day or so, but we got this all figured out. Mom now officially knows daughter is dating, knows boyfriend, has verbally pounded both over the head for being shifty and doing things both know are inappropriate, and they are both grounded until the girl gets out of the nunnery. All that done, it was too late to log in and try out Lady Deathwhisper (is that the boss after Lord Marrowgar? I forget) with everyone else, so I turned to suitor number two, Wizard 101.

Wizard 101 is so forgiving of someone who has to take seconds away from the keys, or minutes. The three year old was having problems staying in bed, so between the hubby and I we got up and put her down at least 4 more times. There are no safe zones in WoW, except for Shattrath and Dalaran. You can't kill anything but time in those two areas, anyhow, so why bother? In Wizard 101, I can hop to the walkway, swat a toddler, grab a drink, and hop out into the street to collide with another mob. Fantastic!


Unfortunately, I have hit a wall. I guess I bought an area for my second youngest last year sometime, so I didn't run out of content right away. Now, I am stuck needing everything for 4 quests that come from a certain area, and a dungeon I have to unlock and the teleporter to unlock Krokotopia. I will have to grab the calculator and decide how much I need to unlock it all. This still isn't running me near as much as my World of Warcraft addiction, but I can see it getting close to it if I decide I need a pony/dragon/cat/wings and that I need my outfit to look like the rogues gear (so cool!). I have been content, so far, with just coloring my items to match.

That iPod game is a real blast, and the kids have sent a bunch of gold and elixirs to my account while playing it. I played it, changed the wizard to my daughter's, and won an evil snowman transformation. I read a certain blogger is giving away codes for gold and the like from his play time of the WizardBlox game. Leave him a comment, you may get lucky. Or, you could ask me nicely, and I could dedicate an hour of my time (or a bored kid's) to trying to win something neat for you. Sorry, seems since I read this this afternoon and into tonight, he has gifted all his codes out, but stay tuned to his blog. There is more that just the codes to read, and you never know. I may have two or three codes to spare by Friday night, so comment if you want one of mine. I'll even leave it a surprise at what you get!

Well, enough of the awkward silence. I will make an effort to keep you all posted on what is going on in game for me and my guild in WoW. I will also be posting a bit more about this newest fling. If you are playing and want to add me, my favorite character is Rowan Trollstalker, a level 14 life/fire wizard. Just whisper in my ear first. All these random friend requests are unnerving!

iPod and Wizard 101 Fun!

My kids love Wizard 101. On my account, each of them has a character. The highest one is level 12. I heard through the web somewhere that there was a free application from Kings Isle, the makers of the game. This application is called WizardBlox. It is just like Sorcery Stones in the game, except by playing this, you can win codes for items and gold in game. Since my kids love this so much, I downloaded it and started playing with it. The game all by itself is fun to play. To get codes, you have to be able to connect to the internet. Then, just play until you can't play anymore. I think I got to level seven (I realize this is no great achievement!) before I got distracted and lost. Apparently, it was enough to win something! The game asked if I was a returning wizard or new wizard, and I clicked returning and logged in. I know you all want to see what I got. Well, not me, my daughter that plays the most. I took her out for a short walk on my computer so you could see one of the things you can win; a skeleton transformation!


Immediately after I hit the gift icon after logging in, I was inundated with friend requests, probably because, hey, how cool is this? I, of course, had to turn them all down (this is my daughter's character, not mine!). So, if a skeleton turned you down in game today, don't feel bad. Try friending her when she is online next. I wanted to save the costume for next time she played, as it only lasts for an hour, so I logged out to save what was left.

I probably will be trying this game out a little more, for a break here and there. Stay tuned for more prize reveals!

Free Apps Abound!

If you are looking for some hand held fun for your iPhone or iPod Touch this holiday season, pop into the app store! There are loads of free goodies to be had in there this season! I popped open my App Miner application, and found several fun games that are sure to make anyone from kids to fumbly old people like me happy. Here are some of the ones I have found, but don't just take my word for it. Look for yourself, and if you find something fun, tell me in the comments!

• Dark Harvest - Made by Red Rocket Games, this game is a match three game where you shoot colored blobs at a floating cloud of more blobs to make matches, without the cloud getting too heavy. Every level you clear, you grow a new evil vegetable for your army. This is a lot of fun, and slightly challenging. Other titles free from Red Rocket this season include Little Runner, MEVO and the Grooveriders, and Mr. Hand. I have tried MEVO and love it. Try the others as the whim takes you, they're sure to please someone!
• Cornhole All Stars - Though the title is off putting, the game is really cute. It's a bean bag toss game (corn being a corn bag, hole being the target) that uses the accelerometer, making it as if you were to toss your device. You get to choose your all star and play against the computer or others. I had fun with this, I hope you do too!
• Pig Rush - This is a cute and deceptively easy game. Tap high to make Pig jump high, tap low to make a low jump. Every level you pass, Pig runs faster, and therein lies the challenge. It is hard to keep up with Pig! Good for giggles, or to keep a kid in the backseat out of trouble for a bit.
• X Invasion - I haven't downloaded this one to try yet, but the images presented make me want to let my boys try it out. This game is a flight simulator and shoot em up, killing aliens over San Francisco.
• Panoramic Blackjack - Cards, anyone? This looks like a great game, and has all the options of a live game, and a Learn to Play mode. This could be good to use as practice before your next casino trip.

I didn't start this article in time to pimp the site appventcalendar.com, and I'm so sorry I missed out! Every day prior to today, there was a free game available, listed prominently on their site. There is still time, however, to enter the Plushed character contest. Drawing for the prize is on the 29th.

Alright, then, to your app stores and find the morsels I've missed! Have a pleasant Christmas Eve!